It's Not Too Late
by CharlieSwagron
Summary: This is just my version of the mine scene that will be in the season finale between Emma and Regina.


**Disclaimer: I don't own Once Upon A Time.**

There it was. the magical gem that would spell the entirety of Storybrooke's doom. The four members of the Charming family and Regina stood staring in awe at the diamond that was glowing a dark blue color and floating in midair. After only a few moments that felt like it had lasted a few hours, Regina stepped forward to approach it.

The movement snapped the others out of their daze and Henry yelled, "Don't touch it, mom!"

Regina stopped briefly, looked back at her son, then began to get closer to the diamond, circling it carefully. She eyed it with a furrowed brow then turned to face her companions. Licking suddenly dry lips, she announced, "I can slow down its destruction…but I won't be able to stop it completely." She saw Snow close her eyes in despair and continued. "You four should go while its still relatively safe to leave this place," the mayor said gesturing at the mine shaft around them.

"I'm not leaving you," Henry declared.

Regina looked at her son and knelt down on the dirty ground so that she could stare directly into his eyes. "Henry," she sighed, "you have to. Get away from here so that you'll be safe."

"But what about you?" was the reply.

Regina hesitated. "I'll be fine. I've been through worse things than this. Don't you worry, I'll be right behind you soon enough." She gave him a reassuring smile then engulfed him in a hug. Kissing the side of his head, she said, "I love you, Henry. Goodbye."

"I love you too, mom," he said, keeping his arms tightly clasped around her neck. "See you soon."

When they broke apart, Regina stood up, dusting herself off. Glancing at Snow and Charming, both of whom were looking at her with expressions of gratitude and respect, she nodded her acknowledgment. She faced Emma and saw that the other woman had a troubled look written across her features. Unable to think of anything else to say or do, the mayor said with finality, "Go. Leave now so that I can slow this thing down."

Snow put a hand on Henry's shoulder and turned to walk away with Charming right behind her. Emma, sensing that something wasn't quite right, stood fast and didn't move. Realizing that her daughter hadn't obeyed Regina's order, Snow called out, "Emma? Come on, we need to leave."

Emma was staring intently at Regina and responded, "You guys go on ahead. I just need to talk with Regina real quick."

"Emma-"

"I'll be along in a minute." She looked back at her family and said, "I promise."

Reluctantly Snow conceded and she, Henry, and Charming walked out of sight.

"What do you want, Ms. Swan?"

The mayor's voice made Emma turn back around to face the other woman who was standing opposite her, extremely close to the fail-safe diamond. "Tell me the truth," she demanded.

"What are you talking about?" was the response.

"You seem to forget that I'm basically a human lie detector, Regina. I can tell when something's off and what just happened back there with you and Henry; something's wrong. Now, what is it?"

Regina sighed and studied her feet for a moment. When her head lifted, Emma was shocked to see tears beginning to glisten in her eyes. "The device," she began to explain, "it's going to require _all the strength I have_."

Understanding dawned upon the blonde haired woman and her mouth formed a grim line. "You're not coming with us, are you? When you were saying goodbye to Henry, you were…you saying _goodbye_."

The brunette sniffled and asked, "He knows I love him, doesn't he? I mean, I told him so, but I'm not sure if he actually knows just how much I do."

Desperation appeared on Emma's face. "Regina, no, there's gotta be another way-"

"You were right you know," Regina interrupted. "Everything that's happening; it's my fault."

"No, please, Regina, I'm so sorry. I didn't mean that-"

"No, Ms. Swan. I created this device. It's only fitting that it takes _my _life," Regina reasoned.

"What am I supposed to tell Henry, huh?" Emma asked slightly angry.

The older woman looked thoughtful. "Tell him that in the end, it wasn't too late for me to do the right thing." She smiled sadly at the blonde.

"Regina, please don't," Emma pleaded quietly, her voice breaking slightly. Tears were now on the verge of spilling out of her own eyes as well.

"Everyone looks at my as the Evil Queen…including my son. He may say he loves me, but we both know that some part of him will always see me as that." Swallowing a lump that had suddenly formed in throat, she added, "I may die as Regina.

Gazing into each other's eyes, a look of understanding passed between them. Redemption. That's all Regina wanted. That's all either of them had wanted for a long time now.

Emma turned to leave as Regina closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. Flexing her fingers, the brunette prepared to unleash her magic on the device that would bring about her final doom.

_This is your last chance to tell her,_ Emma thought to herself. _Turn around and just fucking do it._ She spun around and began "Regina, I-" before stopping mid sentence when magic came spewing out of the mayor's hands and surrounding the glowing diamond.

Feeling disheartened and discouraged as there was nothing she could do now, the sheriff ran down mine shaft and away from the woman who was willing to sacrifice herself in order to allow her son and the other residents of Storybrooke to escape devastation. Tears were now running down Emma's face almost as fast as she herself was running.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Regina had heard the blonde trying to talk to her again, but it was too late, she had already started using her magic and cutting it off now would cause the device to explode and take the entire town with it. A single tear made its way out of her eye and slowly rolled down her cheek.

_I can't believe you didn't tell her,_ Regina thought. She mentally slapped herself and shook her head in frustration. _You're a fucking idiot, Regina Mills. What kind of mayor or even former Evil Queen doesn't have the fucking guts to share her feelings? Fuck!_

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

_What the fuck is wrong with you?! _Emma mentally shouted at herself. _You still should have told her. What kind of heroic sheriff or Savior doesn't have the fucking guts to say what she feels? Fuck!_

She rounded a corner and was surprised to see her mother, father, and son all waiting there, impatience etched on each of their faces.

"What took you so long?" Snow very nearly shouted. "We began to worry when you didn't show up after a couple minutes.

Charming, with a concerned-laced voice, asked, "Emma, is everything alright? What happened back there? Why are you crying?"

Realizing that her daughter _was _in fact crying, Snow got very protective instantly. "Emma, what the hell happened? Did Regina do something?"

"Did she say something to you?" Charming chimed in.

The two bombarded Emma with a barrage of questions, overwhelming the blonde quickly. "Stop!" she yelled.

Her parents immediately fell silent…but Snow wasn't one to stay so for very long. After a beat she asked again, "Emma…what. happened."

To her credit, Emma had stopped crying, but at the thought of how she had left Regina back there made her want to start up again.

"It's Regina," she declared after some hesitation.

"I knew it," Snow announced. "What did she do this time? Did she-"

"She's staying behind permanently. She's going to sacrifice herself so that we can get away."

"What?!" Henry screamed. "She can't do that! She-she said th-that she would be right-right behind us! She can't die, Emma!"

Emma looked sadly at the boy. "Henry, I tried to-"

"She has to come with us!" he yelled. Tears were streaming down his cheeks. "She can't die all alone like that!"

The boy made a move like he was about to try and run to Regina, but Charming had anticipated it and had a tight grip on his shoulders to keep him in place.

"Please, Emma, we have to bring her with us," Henry sobbed quietly. "She's my mom. She can't die alone in an abandoned mine.

Snow had one hand held over her heart while the other covered her mouth in stunned silence. She couldn't believe that Regina would do something like this. Glancing over at her husband, she saw that he, too, wasn't at all happy about the arrangement Regina had prepared for them without their consent. His face was grim, but his eyes were filled with sorrow as he held his grandson while the boy struggled to get free. Emma, on the other hand, was now looking pensive and thoughtful. _That's never a good sign,_ Snow thought.

"Henry's right," Emma finally told them. "I can't let her die alone." Staring into her mother's curious eyes, the blonde nodded and said, "Get out of here," before spinning around and sprinting deeper into the mine shaft.

"Emma!" Snow yelled after her, but to no avail. Her daughter had already disappeared.

Though he was very unhappy with the sudden turn of events, Charming knew that he still had to get the remainder of his family far away from danger. His daughter, it seemed was as stubborn as both of her parents and had made her decision. There wasn't anything that could be done about it.

"C'mon, Snow, we have to leave," he informed her.

"No!" his wife said. "We can't leave without Emma. We have to go after her! We have-"

"Listen to me, Snow!" Charming shouted while grabbing onto both of her shoulders and giving her a firm, but gentle shake. "There's no time! If we want to live, we have to go_ now_! Emma's a grown woman and as much as it pains me to say it, she can make her own decisions regarding her life. And it seems now she's made up her mind."

Slumping her shoulders in defeat, Snow reluctantly conceded. Charming put on of his hands on Henry's shoulder, placed the other on the small of his wife's back, and ushered them both in the direction of the way out, all the while sending up a pray to whatever deity might be listening that his little girl would be alright.

**/-/-/-/-/-/-/-/**

Emma stumbled as a tremor shook the ground beneath her feet. Grabbing onto the wall beside her, she regained her footing and continued down the path that would lead her to Regina.

As another quake rocked the earth below her, she thought,_ God, I hope the others made it out by now._

She slowed her pace as she rounded a corner, not knowing what condition she would find the mayor in when she saw her. Looking at Regina, she noticed that the older woman was covered in a sheen of sweat and her body was trembling from head to toe as her strength slowly diminished in order to sate the diamond's astounding appetite. Her brow was furrowed in concentration and she looked like she was getting paler and paler with every minute that passed.

Emma approached her cautiously, not exactly wanting to break the woman's focus when her foot accidentally kicked a rock and the noise startled Regina.

A giant quake shook the mine shaft and Regina quickly focused her attention on minimizing it. When she had succeeded, the brunette looked at Emma and asked, "What are you doing here, Ms. Swan? I told you to leave."

"Yeah, well, I've never been all that good at following orders."

Regina scoffed, "Well, that's the understatement of the year."

Emma smiled slightly, glad to see that, even under the worst of conditions, the mayor could still act somewhat like herself.

"You never answered my question, though," Regina struggled to say. "What…are you doing…here."

Emma was silent for a moment before she said, "No one deserves to die alone."

Regina stared at the sheriff for a few seconds before saying, "And what makes you…think that I would…that I would want to spend my…last moments with you?" She took in a deep breath and let it out shakily.

"You may not want me around for your last moments, but I most certainly want you around for mine," was her response.

Regina glanced at her sharply. "Why?" she demanded.

Emma inhaled deeply to calm her buzzing nerves. "Because I-" _Here goes nothing._ "Because I love you," she said simply.

The other woman's mouth dropped open and she momentarily lost her concentration again. The ground shaking snapped her out of her daze and she held steady once more. "That's impossible," she finally replied. "You can't love me. You shouldn't love me," she added quietly.

"But I do anyway." She held Regina's gaze. "Ever since I saw first saw you running out of your house to scoop up Henry in a big hug, there's been no one else. I took one look at you and I knew that no one else would ever be able to win my heart because I had just had it stolen by you. You may not have known it, but it's true. It took me until Henry being trapped in the mines to realize that I loved you. And if you're going to die today, you're gonna do it with someone who loves you right by your side."

Throughout Emma's whole speech, Regina stood there, dumbfounded and shocked. How could Emma love her?! She didn't understand. _I guess it makes about as much sense as me falling in love with her too,_ she thought.

The blonde woman stepped closer to the mayor until her stomach practically touched the explosive diamond. Searching the woman's brown eyes, Emma found confusion, fear, and…love? Yes, that was definitely love.

A corner of Emma's mouth lifted and she asked, "Madam Mayor…do you love me as well?"

Regina's bottom lip was trembling; from exhaustion or fear, neither women really knew. The brunette opened her mouth to reply when suddenly, the ground lurched underneath their feet and Emma was sent sprawling a few feet away while Regina maintained her footing.

"Ms. Swan, are you alright?" she called out.

Emma stood slowly, rubbing the side of her head where a pebble had struck it. "Yeah, yeah. I'm fine. Ow," she exclaimed as she hit a particular sore spot. "That fucking hurt."

"Ms. Swan," Emma heard the other woman say. She looked at her when there was a giant pause.

Regina inhaled through her nose as tremors wracked the mine around them again. Meeting Emma's stare, she said, "I can't contain this much longer. Please, you have to go now.""I told you, I'm not leaving you to die alone."

"What about Henry? Are you so ready to leave him parentless, just like you and me?" Regina fired back.

Emma's jaw clenched and she said, "I don't want to, but at least he's surrounded by people who love him. If I leave now, who's gonna be there for you, huh? Tell me, Regina. Who?"

She didn't have time to for a response as the quakes got stronger and pieces of the mine's ceiling began to fall off. She put a new surge of her magic into holding Storybrooke together for a little longer. Feeling something warm and wet stream out of her nose, she realized that it was blood.

Looking at Emma, she saw a horrified expression and figured she probably looked dead already. Taking a somewhat steadying breath, Regina said, "Come here. Please."

Cautiously, she made her way over to Regina. "So this is really the end, isn't it?"

Regina smiled sadly at her and whispered, "Yeah, I guess it is."

They stood together in silence for several moments. Regina was so pale now that she resembled a ghost. Her normal strength was long gone and now she was just waiting for what little adrenaline she had left in her body to run out. How she was holding herself up, she didn't know.

Emma was distraught at the thought of not being able to help, but there was, oddly enough, a calming peace to all of this. She wasn't afraid of dying, especially with Regina at her side. "Emma," she heard Regina rasp out.

"Sh, I'm right here," the younger woman said, smiling when she realized that Regina had actually addressed her by her first name.

"Emma," Regina tried again.

"Shhh, no, don't talk. Save what strength you have left."

"No," she said. "I…need…to say this." When Emma nodded, she continued. "You…and Henry…are the best…things that ever happened…to me. I may not…have…shown it, but it's true."

A tear ran down Emma's face. For Regina, though, there were no more tears, she had cried them all out.

The ground shook violently and this time, the mayor almost fell over. She managed to stay upright somehow, but was now swaying unsteadily. Bigger pieces of the ceiling were raining down and one particularly huge slab landed about a foot from where Emma was standing. She couldn't bring herself to really care, though.

"Emma," she heard the older woman say again. "Come closer…please."

With the diamond floating between them as a literal barrier, and there being no way to safely move without being hit by a chunk of rock, Emma had to settle for leaning forward over the blue gem. She had to come within inches of Regina's face as she couldn't hear what was being said.

"Emma…I'm about…to let go."

"I understand, Regina," she responded quietly.

"I'm…sorry."

"Don't be," was the hushed reprimand. She realized just then that she was slowly closing the distance between their mouths. She needed to kiss her, even she was crushed to death right after. She _needed_ it. Tilting her head slightly to the right, Emma closed her eyes.

Right before she had completely closed the distance, she heard the most amazingly, extraordinary thing in the world.

"_I love you_," Regina breathed out when her knees finally gave out from under her.

Emma, falling chunks of rock be damned, immediately stepped around the diamond, wrapped her arms around Regina's weakened form and fused their mouths together in a desperate kiss.

Their kiss had sent sparks flying everywhere, almost quite literally. The ground abruptly ceased its shaking, but the diamond was still floating and spinning like it didn't know what to do with itself.

Emma slowly pulled her lips off of the mayor's and when she did, the woman lost consciousness immediately, her strength and adrenaline all depleted. Supporting Regina's weight, the sheriff turned to stare strangely at the device that was supposed to have wrought Storybrooke's destruction.

_Well, that was anti-climactic,_ she thought to herself with a frown. Weren't things like that supposed to disappear into thin air when they're beat. At the very least, it should have explod-

Emma hit the deck with Regina securely in her arms, out of harms way, just as the diamond exploded and shattered, sending shards of it flying in all directions.

_Mother fucker!_ she silently screamed as one particularly large piece buried itself in her left calf._ Son of a fucking bitch, that hurts!_

She grunted as she stood and tried to put some weight on her injured leg. When it protested and screamed bloody murder at her, she gave in to the notion that it was gonna be a bitch getting out the these mines with an unconscious woman who needed medical attention desperately and her wounded leg that would barely support any weight at all.

_Oh fuck it, _she thought._ Just grin and bear through it. Regina needs your help, Emma._

Bending down as far as her leg would allow her to go, Emma managed to get her hands and arms under Regina's back and knees so that she could carry her out of the mines.

Groaning at the pressure on her left leg, Emma gritted her teeth and set off. She nearly tripped over a large piece of debris, but thankfully didn't.

After about a half and hour, though to Emma it felt like five hours, she slowly approached the entrance to the mine shaft. _Thank the Lord, it's not caved in._

Reaching the grass that awaited her in the fresh air, Emma let out a sigh of relief. Looking around her, she noticed that it was now nighttime and she had no idea if anyone was still around in Storybrooke.

Setting Regina down gently in the grass, the blonde straightened and a wave of dizziness overtook her. Glancing down at her leg, she realized that her wound must have been bleeding for quite some time and that she must have lost a huge amount of blood.

_How can this get any fucking worse?_ was her last thought before she hit the ground and lost all consciousness.

**AN: This was my first OUAT fanfic so what'd you guys think? I'll most likely have a sequel out, but whether it's tomorrow or within the next several days, I don't know. Thanks for taking the time to read this, it means a lot.!**


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